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Kim imports two young Irish Sport Horses from Ireland
July 1, 2011

Cooley Cross Boarder “Cross”
4 year old Irish Sport Horse Gelding
By Diamond Roller (ISH) Out of Whos Diaz (ISH)
Cross is of Cavalier decent, many Cavalier offspring are ridden by Mary King. Cross is green and has just started jumping and schooling xc. He was purchased from Richard Sheane of Cooley Sporthorses. Many great horses have been originally sourced by Richard; Fernhill Urco and Roquefort just to name a couple.

Ringfort Fighting Chance “Conquer”
6 year old Irish Sport Horse Gelding
Purchased from Ringfort Stud
Conquer has done some pre-novices and 2 novice events in Ireland that are equal to Training and Preliminary levels in the U.S.

 

  • Kim kicks off her new blog with a bang
    May 24, 2011, by Kim“After much deliberation, I decided to sell Paddy. Today he eats grass that’s greener (you know, on the other side of the fence) at his new home. Although it was a very tough decision to no longer have an Advanced horse, I know that Paddy and his new rider will be quite happy together … besides, who wouldn’t want to ride that horse around cross country; I wouldn’t want to keep all of that fun for myself.

    So from here I march forward, on to locating a potential 4 star partner. It may take some time as my budget only allows for a young horse. In the meantime, I look forward to getting on with all of my other horses.

    For those of you who don’t know, I pulled Wiley Post up in the water at Jersey Fresh due to a “bad feeling”. Sort of like the nervous feeling you have before you get in the tack for cross country but for me, it was a bad feeling. The problem was, it never went away, so I chose to pull him up in the water. The first five jumps were great, but coming down the hill to the water, I knew it wasn’t right. It was reported as a refusal, but it was my decision to stop; I want to be clear that I was stopping and not Max, he shouldn’t be blamed. I’ve always lived by the rule that it is never a bad decision to pull up if your gut tells you to. As it turns out, after having the vet go over him, we found that Max (Wiley Post) has a pulled muscle. He looks forward to being back in competition shortly.

    In closing, I want to say a big thank you to Paddy for all of the great cross country rides he gave me! Until next time”

  • Friday Training Session Report from Jenny on March 19, 2011 1:13 PM, Filed Under Eventing Nation Guest Writers

    “…….. Next was Kim Severson on Wiley Post in the jump ring, where Kim requested to start with placement poles to help with his jump, and then worked on giving more with the reins at the base of the jumps. Kim felt a drastic difference and both she and Mark were very pleased with the result. Kim ended by working on keeping Max in a forward canter that wasn’t too open, yet not backwards. Kim then hopped on the magnificent mover Fantasy Impromptu and worked a while on the flat first to get him balanced and prepared for simple changes. Once jumping, she continued to work on having a looped rein at take off to encourage a more extravagant clearance. Kim’s last ride was on Tipperary Liadhnan, aka Paddy, where she seemed to be having a blast. She worked him on a different line than the other two, with a placement pole, one stride to a x-rail, one stride to a vertical gate, one stride to a big oxer. They used the gymnastic to encourage a bigger jump from Paddy, and with Mark saying “Alright, put him back in the trailer!” at least twice, I would say that it was a huge success. By the end the pair effortlessly popped over a 4’6″ oxer,
    ….. and Kim exclaimed, “Is that fun or what!?”
    Until next time! Jenny

  • Kim Severson Looks at the Year Ahead
    Published on Eventing Nation,
    By Samantha L Clark on 2/22/11
    Kim Severson, who is one of just four riders on the US High Performance A List this year, kindly spared me some time to chat recently from her winter base in Aiken. With four horses in her barn, and what she calls a “medium amount” of teaching, we discussed her horsepower, her training methods, and plans for the Spring Season. Of course, Tipperary Liadhnan is probably her best known horse, but she has two other youngsters waiting in the wings
    “I have a horse called Wiley Post, an American TB, that I’ve had for about four years, and hopefully he will do a two star well this year. I’ll be aiming him at the Pan-American Games. I also have another horse called Fantasy Impromptu, owned by my mom, who is a Hanoverian, and he too ideally would be aiming for the Pan American Games. It’s a bit of a stretch for both of them, but I’ve been pretty careful and pretty slow with them, so that might be something in our future.”
    This is the first year that riders have been named to the High Performance or Developing Riders Lists without a specific horse, so I asked Kim if she could choose which horse she takes to the training sessions,
    “Basically, I think Mark (Philips) wants to see the ones that are going to be potential team horses so that he can evaluate them, or as he put it, if we need a second opinion on a particular horse.” “I’ve actually been in Wellington for three weeks working on my show-jumping with Katie (Prudent) so she’s seen them, and was quite happy, so that’s a good starting point.”
    Kim started working with Katie, and Katie’s husband Henri Prudent after the Bromont CCI last summer,
    “The team gave us some grant money to work on our show-jumping, to see if it would help for Paddy (Tipperary Liadhnan). Clearly it helped plenty, so this year when the A-Listers got some grant money my plan was always to go back and work with Katie and let her see the two younger horses. And of course Paddy worked with her as well.”
    From what little I saw at a few of the big events last year, Katie seems to be much more than just a trainer, but also mentor, and almost mother figure to Kim,
    “She is the best! I adore her and Henri both, they are amazing. They’re very good at the whole picture, not just jumping clean rounds, but the whole picture: all the flatwork, all the horse care, all the information, everything. That’s been huge, and opened up my eyes in new ways. I hadn’t experienced it before, and it’s been tremendously helpful.”
    After a pretty disastrous show-jumping round at Rolex last year plummeted them out of the top 20, and three rails down at Bromont a couple of months later, Kim agrees that the transformation of Paddy’s jumping since working with Katie has been fairly miraculous,
    “It was amazing. I learned that I’m very ignorant about show-jumping! There’s just so much that I don’t understand. I’ve always just jumped the jumps without much thought, I didn’t really understand the intricacies of how the horse jumped, and what you could do to help them. A simple example is counting strides – I had never ever counted strides – I was sort of from the school that anything beyond three was beyond me – but it’s really helped me. Let’s say your first two jumps are seven strides apart, I know that now if I jump in and I’m not on the seven strides, whether it be six or eight or whatever, I know right then and there that I’m not in the canter that I need to have to be able to ride the course, and that’s just been a very simple thing for me to understand and know right away if I’m in the appropriate canter.”
    Kim told me also that, counter to what I expected, her strength on the flat was almost her undoing,
    “While I think it does help me in some ways–it helps me to have very different canters–but then again I don’t know which canter to use! I mean it’s great to have all these choices, but if you don’t know which one to pick…! If you don’t know how to decide what you need, then it’s not going to be very helpful.”
    Similarly, Kim explained that show-jumpers and eventers of course, come from completely different places,
    “It’s so funny when you have a lesson with Katie, and she says,’ right, go and gallop the oxer.’ Boy, we eventers go GALLOP the oxer, and she’ll say she didn’t mean quite that fast, and I’ll tell her that she has to pick a different word to use then, and generally we’ll be having lessons with other show-jumpers, and let me tell you, their idea of galloping, and ours, are very, very different!”
    Just in case you were wondering, Paddy is in fine form,
    “He’s good, he came sound by the beginning of November, and he spent most of November in an aqua-tred. I was at the Asian Games in China with Nina, so I was away and Paddy did a month of aqua-tred. Then he came back in December and did all his flatwork and I started to jump him at the very end of December. He went to Florida the second week of January, and I did a week of lessons with Katie, and then we did two weeks of showing. He’s had a few gallops by this point and he seems to be fine. “
    However, there may always be a reminder of the infection that prevented them from representing the USA at the WEG last autumn,
    “The leg doesn’t look normal, it probably will never look normal. It’s just fluid between the skin and the tendon sheath, that’s all it is, it’s just scar tissue. So although it looks a little different, he’s 100 % sound on it.”
    I asked Kim about her plans for the upcoming spring season,
    “I had thought about Badminton, but I’m not so sure I’m going to do that for a couple of reasons. One is that I’d like to go back to Rolex and show-jump a good round, and the other is that I want to be able to pick and choose what he does. For example if he, for whatever reason, didn’t feel completely right, I don’t want to be locked into being over in England and that sort of thing. I just think the safer option, so that I don’t feel like I HAVE to do something, is to do Kentucky. Then of course, if I feel at any point that it’s not worth running him, I won’t. “
    The Horse Park holds mixed memories for Kim,
    “Well, it’s funny – at Kentucky I tend to do either really well, or poorly.” She laughs again, “it goes both ways, but I do feel like rather than spending the money to go to Badminton, and feeling that pressure, I would just rather stay here, and then if Kentucky goes well, then maybe he’ll do Burghley in the Fall. I believe Mark would much rather they do a four-star in the Fall, so I need to talk to him about it, but we’ll see..”
    I asked Kim how she started her relationship with Paddy,
    “Paddy kind of found me. He was brought over as a two year old from Ireland by a lady called Tracy Economidis, to the best of my knowledge for her to ride, but she had some sort of accident and couldn’t ride. So Paddy hung out, and people here and there rode him but he didn’t do a whole lot. I don’t know if he’d ever even been to a horse show when I got him. He was 8 years old then, and really not very far along. He was for sale and Linda’s niece, Ann Wachtmeister, was looking to buy him, so they wanted my opinion. When I first saw him I thought they’d be lucky if he did a two star someday – he was as big as a house, it took me an hour to get him in the water, his jumping style was not the best and so on and so forth, so I wasn’t that impressed. Three years later he went to Kentucky! He’s been pretty amazing.”
    I remarked that there must have been something about him that changed her mind,
    “Well, not really, he just kept on kind of doing his thing! He kept jumping the jumps, and he went around his first advanced at Poplar, which is pretty big, and he just jumped everything. He literally just kept going and doing. Then all of a sudden, there we were at Kentucky!”
    Kim and I agree that physically, Paddy could hardly be more of a contrast to her famous ride, Winsome Adante,
    “They’re very, very different creatures, but they’re the same in the heart, and obviously, as I’ve said before, what makes an event horse is their heart and their mind. They’re the same in that respect, but definitely physically they could not be more different.”
    “The two younger horses are very different as well; Fancy Impromptu is Hanoverian, but a very thoroughbred-y Hanoverian, and he’s incredibly fancy. But he gets worried, so the dressage sometimes can be tense. Although he’s this big, fancy, lovely mover – if you don’t have the relaxation, then you don’t have much. He’s getting to be quite a good jumper, his technique is getting better and better and he’s the sort of a horse I feel like if I put it in front of him, he’ll jump it.”
    “The Wiley Post horse, which is the American TB, is quite sassy, he’s becoming a very good mover, he’s very trainable, and he’s a good jumper. The big question with him is if he’s going to believe in himself enough to do the upper levels. It’s funny for an athletic and quality a horse that he is, he gets worried that he can’t do it. I have every faith in that horse, I believe he’s a very, very good horse, it’s just a matter of him believing that he’s that good of a horse. For him, it will be a wait and see year to what’s going to happen.”
    “They’re pretty different horses!”

    Kim is renowned for her skill at getting the best out of all sorts of types of horses, and having heard the affection and detail with which she described each of their characters and quirks, I asked her if this is what she really enjoys, and what motivates her,
    “You do it because you love it. You love the horses. They’re all interesting in their own way. I do it because I love the horses”
    Kim, of course, is easily one of the leading US event riders on the flat, and has taken lessons from Gerd Zuther for the last six or seven years
    “He’s rather like Katie in the fact that you never get the same lesson twice. You get whatever lesson is appropriate for the horse and where it’s at and at what level. He’s one of those people who can look at a horse and know what particular exercise is going to work for it, and what’s going to work best for the horse, he’s pretty unique that way.”
    Kim has four horses in work currently, and tweaks their schedules according to how they feel daily,
    “I definitely believe that you should have a general plan, ie the day after a competition off, and the first day back in their work I prefer that they go trotting, and say the next day would be dressage. Maybe there are certain things I’ll work on with each horse, or sometimes I’ll get on and feel like I can’t even get to that point today and so I’ll work on transitions instead. I strongly believe that if things aren’t working on a particular day, if it’s a bad day for you, or a bad day for the horse, and we all have those, I’m happy to just leave it, absolutely leave it, and go and do something else. If it’s just not going to happen, then I’d much prefer to just leave it alone.”
    I asked Kim who she looked up to most within the horse world,
    “Currently, that would be Katie and Henri (Prudent) . Of course you have your influences over the years, like Lucinda Green – watching her jump around the ’84 Olympics and stuff like that, those are the type of people you look up to and always will. I guess I believe that you can learn something from everyone.”
    Finally, we talked about having a life away from the barn, being able to relax physically and mentally,
    “I’m pretty good at switching off”, she laughs, “It’s not really an issue for me. I like to watch television, and movies, or read. It depends on where you are and what you’re doing.”
    The last movie Kim saw was Secretariat at the end of January, and she’s longing to see Black Swan, but the cinema in Virginia is a 40 minute drive so she doesn’t go as often as she’d like. However, she has netflixed 30 Rock, and is well into Season 3 and loving it! Of course, I want to thank Kim for her time, it was a real treat to chat with her. I was disarmed by how extremely modest she is, and her quiet sense of humor, and I can’t wait to see her at future events. Thank you for reading too, and Go Eventing!
    This article was also published on SamanthaLClark.com

 

  • The USEF released a final list of dates for the 2011 training sessions with Mark Phillips. The USEF press release states that training sessions with Katie Prudent have not been confirmed. Like last year, Eventing Nation will visit as many of the training sessions as possible and provide daily reports. Spectators are welcome.February 3 – 5 Meredyth South, Ocala, FL
    February 6, 8, 9 Three Runs Plantation, Aiken, SC
    February 10 – 12 El Campeon Farm, Thousand Oaks, CA
    February 16 – 17 Meredyth South, Ocala, FL
    February 21- 22 Three Runs Plantation, Aiken, SC
    February 23 – 25 Royal Oaks Farm, Thousand Oaks, CA
    March 2 – 5 Three Runs Plantation, Aiken, SC
    March 8 – 9 El Campeon Farm, Thousand Oaks, CA
    March 10 Red Hills Horse Trials, Tallahassee, FL
    March 16 – 18 Three Runs Plantation, Aiken, SC
    March 30 – 31 Galway Horse Trials, Temecula, CA
    April 5 – 6 The Fork Horse Trials, Norwood, NC
  • The USEF formally announced the 2011 Training List and Developing Riders List for 2011 –High Performance A List: Phillip Dutton, Boyd Martin, Kim Severson, and Amy Tryon

    High Performance B List: Laine Ashker, Jennie Brannigan, Hannah Sue Burnett, Will Coleman, Tiana Coudray, Buck Davidson, Will Faudree, Karen O’Connor, and Allison Springer

    There is a big change in this list from the past years, as no horses have been listed. The USEF press release explains that– “The Eventing High Performance Training Lists have been revised for the 2011 season. These riders will be invited to participate in training sessions this winter with Capt. Mark Phillips. The Eventing Selectors and High Performance Committee revised the approach to the training lists with the objective of being successful at the 2012 London Olympic Games. It is anticipated the new structure will allow more focus on the riders themselves, and allow more exposure for some of the talented young horses coming up through the levels. A listed riders will receive training grants from the USEF and priority during training sessions. Capt. Phillips will continue to arrange personal training with the A listed riders at their own farms throughout the season. B listed riders may also be awarded training grants and invited to training sessions.”

  • Asian Games Results – November 2010: After Dressage and Cross Country, Thailand sat in 2nd Place with a combined Team score of 135.6 just 2.2 points behind Japan. Nina and Chai Thai’s dressage score of 40.6 was the best of all top seven ranked Teams in competition. Two Stadium Rounds were scored, where unfortunately Nina and Chai took a rail in each, dropping them individually to 4th Place overall.
    Nina, our Congratulations on a Fantastic ride as you represented Thailand (and all of us back home in the U.S.).
    We are extremely proud of your accomplishments!

    Eventing Team Results:
    Gold = Japan
    Silver = Thailand
    Bronze = China.

  • USEF Names Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team
    for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games,

    Release: September 14 2010, Author: Joanie Morris: Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation has named the following horse/rider combinations as the team and individuals to the Land Rover U.S. Eventing Team for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games which will take place from September 25-October 10, 2010 in Lexington, KY. = Buck Davidson and BallyNoe Castle RM – Phillip Dutton and Woodburn – Boyd Martin and Neville Bardos – and Kim Severson and Tipperary Liadhnan
  • Eventing Nation – 8/29/2010
    Richland HT, Michigan

    “The story in the Advanced-B division is that Tipperary Liadhnan only had one rail. For the first time in a long time it looked like Paddy was finally working with Kim again. I have been writing that Kim and Paddy have been training well with Katie Prudent, and we saw the results of that training at Richland. I never like to make too much out of just one round, but another one rail performance at the AECs is going to make it hard to leave Paddy off the WEG squad.”
  • Eventing Nation – 7/12/2010
    Kim Severson and Tipperary Liadhnan

    added to the WEG Short List

    John’s Thoughts on the 5 US short list additions:
    “Again, not a huge surprise. There are definitely still questions about the show jumping after the stop at Rolex and 3 rails at Bromont. Paddy and Kim are one of the best XC pairs the US has right now, and there is still time for the show jumping to improve.”

http://eventingnation.com/home/2010/07/us-short-list-additions.html.

  • Eventing Nation – 6/11/2010 – Bromont, Canada CCI***
    Kim Severson and Tipperary Liadhnan rule at Bromont with a dressage score of 43.4 – remaining on top after XC by 7.8 points

    View Dressage Test at:
    www.youtube.com/watch?v=–UwLzHG0x8&feature;=player_embedded.

  • Chronicle of The Horse 3/20/2010:
    “Sunny Days For Severson And Faudree At Southern Pines”
    By: Karen Conk

    “Kim Severson proved that Tipperary Liadhnan is back in top form with a foot-perfect cross-country round in an advanced division at Southern Pines.

www.chronofhorse.com/article/sunny-days-severson-and-faudree-southern-pines.

  • Kim congratulates all the members of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Equestrian Team saying, “I am so confident in the members of the Olympic Team, and I am particularly happy for Becky and Heidi as they have both shown huge improvement and personal growth. I wish them all the best of luck.” www.usef.org.
  • Kim continues to train and compete Tipperary Liadhnan as well as her other upcoming horses. www.uset.org.

Articles:

  • Pennfield Equine Feed Technologies, Lancaster, PA – Hundred-Year-Old Promise to Always Put the Horse First Nets Small PA Company “Official Feed of the USEF” Title. This announcement on February 18, 2009 spoke volumes for the quality of this regionally produced product and small, family owned company that has lived by their promise since 1919 of putting the horse first. This is an enourmous honor for Pennfield and recognizes the extremely high quality of their product, as they compete in an industry among some huge conglomerates. Pennfield has been partnered with Kentucky Equine Research for over a decade bringing state-of-the-art nutritional expertise to their feed products.
  • Kim congratulates Gina Miles for winning the Individual Silver Medal in Eventing at the 2008 Hong Kong Olympic Games!
  • USEF names the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team in Eventing U.S.Olympic Team
  • Kim and Tipperary Liadhnan named to the USEF Eventing Short List for the 2008 Hong Kong Olympic Games.
  • Event Rider Kim Severson, How It All Started, by Sandra Cooke: equisearch.com/horses_riding_training/english/eventing/severson_101904/
  • Kim Severson’s top horse Winsome Adante is retired www.horseandhound.co.uk/competitionnews/article.php?aid=155520&cid;=391